# humi mold (warning large imgs)



## bloominonion (Apr 6, 2010)

So I picked up this humidor off Craigslist for $45, but thanks to bad lighting I failed to see it had a good bit of mold in it... I just want to know what you think is best for the mold in these bad spots... I already threw out the green foam and am ordering beads tomorrow.

The plan is to get everclear and wipe down as best i can and maybe slightly saturate cracks, then expose to sun/bright light for 24+ hrs.

View of inside of humi









Right side humidifier spot










Left side humidifier spot










Drawer compartment under left side humidifier slot.


----------



## kRaZe15 (Jan 25, 2010)

sorry to hear that but your plan sounds like the right way to go. my advice is next time use either cheaphumidors.com, ed at waxingmoon or put out a thread that you wanna buy one. i would probably double up and hit it 2x with the everclear and sun. you don't wanna second guess and ruin your precious smokes.... good luck..


----------



## bloominonion (Apr 6, 2010)

I am planning on doing the everclear twice. I have it baking with a 2x100w (cfl) light box I had overnight. I will buy some everclear tomorrow and wipe it down, then set it in the sun to bake again. Then everclear and sun again the next day.

I actually had one on order from Cheaphumidors, but since it was an imperfect, someone bought it before I did.


----------



## commonsenseman (Apr 18, 2008)

Geeze! What was he using, *regular water*?!?!


----------



## bloominonion (Apr 6, 2010)

he had a tiny bottle of Thompson fluid, but it was tiiiiiiny, and empty.


----------



## Herf N Turf (Dec 31, 2008)

That's the worst case of humidor mold I've ever seen. I don't know (and I'm the proponent of the everclear/light method of mold murder), but you might have to actually sand that thing after the everclear/light treatment and then do it again. That's bad.

I never recommended sunlight... at least, directly. The local star will also add a lot of warmth, which mold loves. 

Sheesh, honestly, in that condition, I'm not sure what to tell'ya.


----------



## eyesack (Jul 19, 2009)

Ah jeez brother, I'm sorry this happened to you! IMO you may want to sand it down at least scuff the surface a bit to get the roots out of the wood like Don said. Be careful what you put in there man...


----------



## salmonfly (Nov 11, 2009)

eyesack said:


> Ah jeez brother, I'm sorry this happened to you! IMO you may want to sand it down at least scuff the surface a bit to get the roots out of the wood like Don said. Be careful what you put in there man...


:tpd: Just what he said!! ound:ound:


----------



## Scott W. (Jul 10, 2008)

Eat the cash, I wouldn't risk the mold coming back. Millions of spores can get released into your house or back into your humi and with the summer months coming up, not sure I would take the risk for $45. If it was a Tower of Power, different story.


----------



## Andy (Mar 23, 2008)

thats the worst case of mold I ever seen


----------



## bazookajoe (Nov 2, 2006)

Herf N Turf said:


> That's the worst case of humidor mold I've ever seen. I don't know (and I'm the proponent of the everclear/light method of mold murder), but you might have to actually sand that thing after the everclear/light treatment and then do it again. That's bad.
> 
> I never recommended sunlight... at least, directly. The local star will also add a lot of warmth, which mold loves.
> 
> Sheesh, honestly, in that condition, I'm not sure what to tell'ya.





scottw said:


> Eat the cash, I wouldn't risk the mold coming back. Millions of spores can get released into your house or back into your humi and with the summer months coming up, not sure I would take the risk for $45. If it was a Tower of Power, different story.


I'm sure it's not what you want to hear but I agree here. If it was just a spot it would be easy enough to clean up, but that mold looks well established and the effort needed seems like more than the box is worth. Plus you'll probably be checking it constantly to see if it's come back. I'd cut my losses and get rid of it, or douse it with rubbing alcohol and use it to store other than cigars. :2


----------



## bloominonion (Apr 6, 2010)

yeah, it's pretty bad. I will try and sand it a bit, and the side panels have been removed, so I can do a thorough sanding easily. I will give it a shot and set some water in in to rehydrate it and see where it goes. I will act like it is a normal humi and just keep it empty for a while and see if it ever re-grows mold. Maybe I will need to hit Sam up again and get something from him... I just wish I had seen it there, but I just completely missed it.

I have to ask, why use everclear vs isopropyl? It s something about an ethanol vs methanol?


----------



## bazookajoe (Nov 2, 2006)

bloominonion said:


> ...I have to ask, why use everclear vs isopropyl? It s something about an ethanol vs methanol?


I believe it's an odor issue.


----------



## Mante (Dec 25, 2009)

Got to agree on eating this one. If you do all your treatments I'd still keep it humidified & empty for six months to see what appears, or doesnt. Those pics sent a shiver down my spine mate.:mmph:


----------



## bloominonion (Apr 6, 2010)

Well, I am doing a super mold eradication system. A light box with 2x100W cfls insulated to bring temp to over 100 deg, combined with a high voltage arc for ozone generation.

Ozone is an air oxidizer which will kill any bacteria or mold, mold cannot survive in an environment in over 100 deg, plus the light bleaching. All will be finished off with a wipe down with everclear to get down into the wood to get any spores the heat or ozone misses, even though they will act deep into the wood.

It should be just fine, when done it will sit hydrated for a while to monitor any possible future growth.


----------



## StephenW (Apr 5, 2010)

I would honestly recommend taking a loss on the humi, even with all the precautions you are taking. What if you don't get all the spores? I don't know if you've done research on mold before but it can be devastating to your body. I just wouldn't chance. it.


----------



## bloominonion (Apr 6, 2010)

StephenW said:


> I would honestly recommend taking a loss on the humi, even with all the precautions you are taking. What if you don't get all the spores? I don't know if you've done research on mold before but it can be devastating to your body. I just wouldn't chance. it.


That's what antibiotics are for!! hahaha

I sanded every panel on it, front and back. I even removed the liner panels to sand the back of them. (I did it outside and wearing a respirator and safety glasses.)

I will just see what it does. If no mold grows in it after a few months, then it will be rated as usable, otherwise it will be considered trash.

Bummer for a first real humi though!!


----------



## salmonfly (Nov 11, 2009)

Cut your losses and move on, I will never put my stock in there.
Just my 2cent Bro !!

PS: you are going to spend more on cigasr than that humi cost??


----------



## bloominonion (Apr 6, 2010)

salmonfly said:


> PS: you are going to spend more on cigars than that humi cost??


Yeah, over a very long period of time. I buy less than a 5 pack a month or so. I know where you are getting at with the being worth the cost if the value of cigars in it are worth more than the humi.

I will prolly rely on my tupperador while this one decides what it will do. It took me 20 minutes to sand it down, and some everclear.

The rest is just a matter of time and seeing what it does. If it works, it is a very small effort to prevent the loss. If not, I haven't wasted much trying to fix it.

I am too poor to bite the bullet on this one. This was everything I could afford, and is renewing my subscription to the Ramen diet!


----------



## Herf N Turf (Dec 31, 2008)

bloominonion said:


> I have to ask, why use everclear vs isopropyl? It s something about an ethanol vs methanol?


Isopropyl is a chemical and will leave nasty chemical residue behind. Everclear is a natural grain spirit and leaves nearly nothing behind. It's commonly used for cleaning electronic parts. Whatever little bit it does leave is non-toxic/inert. To test, wipe them both across a piece of black glass and allow to evaporate. You'll see what I mean.


----------



## bloominonion (Apr 6, 2010)

Herf N Turf said:


> Isopropyl is a chemical and will leave nasty chemical residue behind. Everclear is a natural grain spirit and leaves nearly nothing behind. It's commonly used for cleaning electronic parts. Whatever little bit it does leave is non-toxic/inert. To test, wipe them both across a piece of black glass and allow to evaporate. You'll see what I mean.


Cool, that is what I wanted to know! The nerd in me is satisfied.


----------



## redbeerd (May 4, 2010)

sand it down


----------



## bloominonion (Apr 6, 2010)

redbeerd said:


> sand it down


Done and done! I pulled all the panels out of the inside and sanded them, front and back, along with any other surfaces I could get to. I sanded almost all the way through the veneer (all the way in a few spots, whoops!).

Soaked it in everclear 3 times, aired it out for 8 hours, then baked it in the sun with it closed (to temps of 125 deg+) and aired it for another four hours till temp returned to normal and am now re-hydrating it. It should be fine.

The pain I put it through would have killed a friggn rhinoceros. If mold ever grows back in this I would be thoroughly surprised. I'll keep everyone updated if this works or fails.


----------



## Scott W. (Jul 10, 2008)

I hope you didn't dump another $45 in time, energy and everclear into it. Wanna talk about shoveling s*** against the tide. I do however applaud your efforts and wish you the very best with this humi. I hope it performs like a champ for you.


----------



## bazookajoe (Nov 2, 2006)

bloominonion said:


> ...then baked it in the sun with it closed (to temps of 125 deg+)...


Hope it works out after all the effort.:tu

BTW, I believe the leaving it the sun part is for the sunlight to kill any remaining mold, so it should be open. No matter at this point since you've done so much, but for the next one... .


----------



## bloominonion (Apr 6, 2010)

bazookajoe said:


> Hope it works out after all the effort.:tu
> 
> BTW, I believe the leaving it the sun part is for the sunlight to kill any remaining mold, so it should be open. No matter at this point since you've done so much, but for the next one... .


Actually, the light is good, but high temps (over 105deg preferably up to 160 deg for 4 hours or more) will kill any mold in cracks or in the wood. I could have put it in the oven, but I figured I would multi task it.

I spent $15 on the everclear and about 30 minutes actually concentrating on working on it. Not much time to sacrifice if it works!


----------



## bazookajoe (Nov 2, 2006)

bloominonion said:


> ...I spent $15 on the everclear and about 30 minutes actually concentrating on working on it. Not much time to sacrifice if it works!


And hopefully you have some everclear left over... :drinking:


----------



## bloominonion (Apr 6, 2010)

bazookajoe said:


> And hopefully you have some everclear left over... :drinking:


I wouldn't drink that unless I had to. That's what the whiskey and scotch are for!


----------



## jmpeace501 (Apr 5, 2010)

Sorry about the humi. What a jerk the person was to even sell that thing! I would personally eat the $45 and get a new humidor. After getting rid of all the mold you could always use that humidor for something like a junk (keys, pens, change, coasters, etc) drawer so it won't be a total loss.


----------



## bloominonion (Apr 6, 2010)

jmpeace501 said:


> Sorry about the humi. What a jerk the person was to even sell that thing! I would personally eat the $45 and get a new humidor. After getting rid of all the mold you could always use that humidor for something like a junk (keys, pens, change, coasters, etc) drawer so it won't be a total loss.


That would be a damn expensive junk drawer! We'll just see where it goes and I might just end up getting a different one.


----------



## ejgarnut (Sep 28, 2009)

Hope it works out for ya Nate. 

Dont throw out the everclear, it makes good punch, just dont drink it straight.


----------



## bloominonion (Apr 6, 2010)

ejgarnut said:


> Hope it works out for ya Nate.
> 
> Dont throw out the everclear, it makes good punch, just dont drink it straight.


I've also heard its good for the prudes, you can inject it into oranges and whatnot for a nice sneak attack. hahaha

I vowed to never drink anything that strong straight after drinking moonshine straight...not fun.

So update on the humi, it is re-hydrating, almost ready by the looks of it. Will put beads in as soon as they arrive to prevent high humidity spikes and see what happens!


----------



## salmonfly (Nov 11, 2009)

bloominonion said:


> I've also heard its good for the prudes, you can inject it into oranges and whatnot for a nice sneak attack. hahaha
> 
> I vowed to never drink anything that strong straight after drinking moonshine straight...not fun.
> 
> So update on the humi, it is re-hydrating, almost ready by the looks of it. Will put beads in as soon as they arrive to prevent high humidity spikes and see what happens!


Nate I am glad that it's working out for you Bro, just keep working on it!!:cowboyic9::cowboyic9:


----------



## Mhouser7 (Aug 13, 2010)

Nate.. I'm not sure how I kicked up this old thread but I'm interested to know if after 3 months what was the outcome on the humidor?


----------

